Principal's Report

Year 9 City Experience

One of the things (of which there are many!) that makes us a great school is the countless opportunities that students have to experience life and learning outside the classroom. The Year 9 City experience program exemplifies this with students venturing outside the traditional classroom and instead learning in places like the Shrine of Remembrance, MCG, Parliament House and the Queen Victoria Market. The week whilst exhausting for students (and teachers) also promotes the concept of giving students greater independence and being less reliant on teachers and parents.

One of the other things that makes us great is the willingness and enthusiasm of our staff to facilitate these kinds of learning opportunities. I would like to thank all staff who attended for their significant commitment to this program, and in particular, I would like to recognise and thank Joanna Karanikolopoulos for her leadership and supreme organisational skills.

Sister School Visit

Earlier this year, 15 of our Year 8 students and 3 staff ventured a long way north to visit our sister school in China, The International Bilingual Academy of Huizhou Number 1. Middle School. A couple of weeks ago we had the opportunity to reciprocate the visit when our students and families and school hosted students and staff from Huizhou. The Chinese students and staff began the visit at the school production which they enjoyed despite the language barrier.

The following Monday when they arrived at school they looked nervous, shy and not sure what to expect. At the end of the week, after 5 days of fun activities, excursions, classes and homestay with host families they were full of confidence with big smiles on their faces. This cultural exchange is another example of what we can offer our students outside of the normal classroom environment. We look forward to the next group of Year 8s (current Year 7s) taking this opportunity up again next year.

Thank you to the families who hosted our chinese visitors for the week, this was a significant commitment and it added significantly to their experience. A big thanks also to Catherine Ford, Carrie Wallis and Ray Wang for their leadership of this experience.

Maintenance funding boost

This week I received notification from Jackson Taylor MP that we would be receiving an additional $221,000 of maintenance funding for 2020. This significant investment from the government will help us continue to improve the learning and school environment for our students, staff and community.